Moving In
by SpySkater
Summary: The Heroes move in together. How does their life go?
1. Moving

"OK. Everything's ready." Peter said. He, Isaac, Nathan, and Claire were moving everything into the house. After being saved, Claire decided to drop-out of school. She and the rest of the Heroes were certain they should move in together and the world was more important than high school right now. Nathan and Matt were the only ones not moving in. But when needed, Hiro could teleport and get Nathan when he wasn't in Los Angeles and Matt lived nearby.

"Aren't there, like, five more people moving in?" Claire asked.

"Yeah. They should be here soon." Isaac said. There was a knock at the door. "And there they are."

"Aww, you didn't need the heroin this time." Peter laughed.

"Hey, I'm clean now, remember?" Peter went to the door and opened it. There stood Hiro and Ando.

"Hello, Hiro. Hi, Ando." Peter said.

"It is good to see you, Peter." Hiro said in his Japanese accent. His English was improving thanks to Ando. Hiro and Ando walked in and greeted Isaac, Nathan, and Claire.

"Thank you, guys, for saving me." Claire said.

"Hey. We never leave a damsel in distress. Plus, it helped us stop New York from going nuclear. All I did was paint the picture." Isaac said.

"Hiro and I helped Peter a little." Ando said.

"And I did all the action." Peter said. Claire nodded and sat down on the couch by Isaac. She turned on the TV and flipped through the channels. A half an hour later, the doorbell rang again. Peter went to the door. He opened it to find Niki, D.L., and Micah.

"Hello Peter." Niki said.

"Hello… Niki?" Peter said, unsure of whether he was talking to Niki or her alter ego, Jessica.

Niki nodded.

"Oh, good. I thought I messed up. D.L. and Micah. How are you?"

"Good." Micah said.

"Hey, Pete. What's taking so long?" called a voice. Nathan walked up to Peter's side. Niki's eyes widened.

"Just saying hi to our new housemates. Nathan, this is-" Peter began.

"Niki? You're the girl from the hotel, right?" D.L. and Micah looked at Niki with questioning looks.

"Um, yeah. That's me. Um, this is my son, Micah." Niki said. Nathan squatted down so he could look Micah in the eye. He shook the boy's hand.

"Your mom told me about you. And how smart you are." Micah smiled slightly. Nathan stood back up.

Micah looked at his dad, who had a disturbed look on his face.

"And this is D.L." Niki said, not mentioning the fact that he was her husband. Nathan shook D.L.'s hand.

"Nice to meet you."

"Same here." D.L. said.

"Let's get inside. C'mon." Peter said.

"Hey guys." Micah said, as he walked into the living room.

"Well, if it isn't my little buddy, Tech. How are you, Micah?" Isaac said, standing up and walking over to the three newcomers.

"Good." Micah said. He gave Isaac a high five. Isaac hugged Niki and shook D.L.'s hand.

"Oh, good. I'm not the only female in the house." Claire said. Niki chuckled and her attention went to Claire, the youngest besides Micah.

"Well, Eden will be here, too." Niki joked. "Hi Claire. How are you?"

"I'm good. Just getting used to being away from Texas."

"It'll get better. Especially because we're in sunny California." Peter said.

------------------------------

D.L. and Nathan leaned against the kitchen counter, a beer in their hands. D.L. had taken off his hat by this time and watched what was going on outside. Claire, Micah, and Hiro were playing in the pool. Isaac was painting, but luckily it wasn't of the future. Niki was sunbathing, so D.L. had most of his attention on her. Little did he know, so did Nathan.

"She's great isn't she?" Nathan asked. D.L. looked away from Niki.

"Who?" D.L. asked.

"Niki. That night in my hotel room," D.L. quirked an eyebrow at Nathan. "She blew me away." D.L. nodded his head and put on a fake smile.

"No shit?" D.L. said.

"Yeah. You seem to know her."

"Why would you think that?"

"You guys walked in together, you know her son extremely well. Better than I know my own sons."

"Yeah, I've known her since we were kids."

"Oh." Nathan took another sip of his beer. D.L. looked back outside.

"She's my wife." Nathan looked at D.L. with a shocked look. Niki had never really mentioned her husband except when D.L. had taken Micah. At that time, he'd thought they were divorced.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know." Nathan said.

"No worries. She probably didn't mention me. Did she?" D.L said.

"No, she didn't. Just Micah."

"Well, I'm gonna go outside." D.L. said with a smirk. He walked through the sliding door. "And that's how I escaped." He walked over to Niki.

"Whoa, what happened to the sun?" Niki joked. She opened her eyes to see D.L. "Hey baby. What's wrong?" She sat up, as D.L sat by her.

"Nathan told me what happened."

"What do you mean?" Niki lied.

"The hotel. That's why you were freaking out when you saw him."

"I don't even remember what happened."

"You were there. How do you not- Jessica. I swear she's trying to break us apart."

"Not anymore. I made her promise she wouldn't."

"Yeah, like that helps." Niki slapped D.L.'s bald head. "Ow, Niki."

"What?"

"You just hit me."

"I did not."

"Jessica."

"Baby, Jessica is a very free spirit. And that night at the hotel was the only way to pay off my debt. Jessica was just trying to help." D.L. avoided eye contact with Niki. "So, you're going to avoid me? It didn't mean anything. Especially since I don't remember anything."

"What about Micah? Where was he?" Niki took a deep breath.

"The night you came home was the day I came home from the hotel. I left Micah there with Tina. When I got home-"

"The cops were there. I know, I was there."

"You were there?"

"I was in our closet. When you got paranoid and came in our room that day, I was there. I came out the closet when you went back to Micah's room. Damn, did you really think I was going to kill you?" D.L. chuckled.

"At the time. I thought you actually murdered your crew."

"Yeah, when you actually committed the crime."

"I didn't know that. And I didn't commit the crime. Jessica did. And I didn't want you to take Micah, which you did."

"I thought you were trying to kill me, which you did."

"Because you didn't believe me when I told you about Jessica and Jessica's the one who bought the sniper rifle. I didn't want her to hurt you."

"Well, luckily she didn't."

"Yup, that would've been tragic." Niki kissed D.L. passionately.

"Eww, get a room." said Micah. His parents pulled away. "I'm glad you worked out your marriage and that we're a family again, but please. There are children here."

"Oh, you're a child, now?" Niki asked.

"Mom, I may be a genius, but I'm a _kid_ genius. The keyword being kid." Micah said.

"What do you have behind your back?" Niki asked.

"You wanna know?"

"Yes."

"You _really_ wanna know?"

"Yes. Come on, kid. Show me."

"OK." Micah pulled out two water pistols and shot Niki with them. Niki squealed. The others looked at her. The water against her warm skin was freezing.

D.L. and Micah laughed. Niki looked at D.L.

"This is funny?"

"Extremely."

"I'm gonna get both of you." Niki stood up and walked to the pool. D.L. and Micah continued to laugh. "Oh, boys." Micah and D.L. looked up. Claire and Niki were aiming at them with their own water guns. The boys stopped laughing. The girls shot them. When they stopped, D.L. was soaking wet. Micah had already been wet. Niki laughed at her husband. D.L. took off the tank top he was wearing. There was no use wearing it now. It was transparent.

"That's not cool, Niki."

"It may not be cool, but it's hilarious."

"OK. I know a way to get you back." D.L. walked up to Niki and kissed her. When he pulled away, he pushed her in the pool. When she emerged from the water, she flipped her hair from in front of her face.

"That was evil. Jessica wouldn't even go that far." Claire said, thinking back to when she first met Niki's alter ego.

"Really, 'cause I was thinking of her when I did it." D.L. said. Isaac had walked up to D.L.'s side. He gave him a high five and laughed. Micah stood by the two adults.

While D.L. wasn't paying attention, Niki and Claire pulled him in. "Whoa!" Everyone laughed. That was the beginning of the infamous Heroes Water Fight.

"Hey, what's going on out here?" said a voice. Peter, Nathan, Mohinder, Eden, and Matt had walked outside.

"Nothing." everyone said. Everyone who had a water gun shot the five. Peter ran back inside and a few moments later came out with a Super Soaker. By this time, Niki and D.L. were out the pool. Peter shot Isaac first, who hadn't gotten wet yet. Everyone ran around the backyard, running from whoever could get them wet.

Peter, Claire, and Niki had their own water fight by the water hose. Eden and Mohinder were the only ones at the moment without a water gun and Micah had given one of the pistols to his dad.

Peter consistently hit Niki and Claire with his gun. They didn't have nearly as much water power as he did.

"Alright, I give." Niki said, before being hit in the face with water.

"Niki, I'm so sorry." Peter said.

"Oh no. You're not getting away that easy. Claire. The hose."

"No. Niki. Don't do it."

"Niki's not here right now." she said with a smirk.

"Oh shit." Peter said, beginning to run. Claire turned on the water hose and Jessica aimed at Peter. The water hit Peter. Peter yelped at how cold the water was.

Claire and Jessica laughed.

"Alright, Claire. Turn it off." Jessica said.

"That was a nice move, Niki or Jessica." Peter said.

"My idea. Jessica just carried it out." Niki said. She had come back.

"Alright guys! Let's eat!" D.L. shouted. They all dried off and went into the house.

"That was fun! We should do it again." Micah said. Micah was right. They'd all had fun. Why not do it again?

-----------------------------------

Their first day together had been great. It was now midnight. Micah and Claire were on the computer in her room. Peter, Nathan, D.L., Matt, Hiro, and Ando sat around playing cards. Niki and Eden were watching some TV movie on Lifetime. Mohinder and Isaac sat in the den with the two women, talking about evolution. They were like a family. Yeah, that's what they were. A family.


	2. Gelato

"I'm not so sure about this Claire. What if we get caught?" Micah asked Claire. Most of the Heroes had lived together for a month now.

"We won't." Claire said.

"And if we do?"

"We won't as long as we leave now and you're quiet. Besides, Peter, Isaac, Mohinder, Eden, Ando, and Hiro are sleeping. Matt and Nathan don't live here. Oh, and your parents are in their room doing whatever they're doing."

"Eww." Micah said, after getting a mental image of what his parents could possibly be doing.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." said a voice. The youngest Heroes turned to find the mother figure of the Heroes, Niki.

"Told you we'd get caught." Micah said. "And worse, it's by mom."

"Shit. I knew we should have left earlier." Claire said. She sighed. "So, are we grounded?"

"No. In fact, I'm gonna go with you." Niki said.

"But curfew's at ten on school nights. It's midnight. Shouldn't you be putting us to bed?"

"She's not, because it's not mom. It's Jessica." Micah said.

"Are we going or not?"

Claire looked at Jessica. She was wearing a black midriff shirt and a tight pair of blue jeans. Micah wore a black sweater and beanie and Claire wore a black shirt and jacket.

"Yeah. Let's go." Claire said finally. Jessica grabbed the keys and turned off the alarm. She and the kids walked to the car and drove off.

"So, where are we going?" Jessica asked. She looked in the rearview mirror and saw Niki who looked kind of upset. Jessica ignored Niki and looked at Micah. He shrugged.

"We never figured out where we were gonna go." Micah said. Claire nodded.

"Well, I feel like getting something sweet. What about you guys?" Jessica said. Micah and Claire nodded. "OK. Good, because there is a great gelato place nearby." Jessica drove a few blocks and parked down the street from the gelato place. She got out the car and Claire and Micah followed. They walked into the place. Jessica stood to the side as Claire and Micah tried some of the many types. Jessica looked to the wall on her left. The whole wall was a mirror. She smiled at Niki.

She walked over to the mirror.

"Hello Niki. Would you like some gelato?"

"Jessica, you know you shouldn't have them out this late." Niki said.

"It was their idea." Jessica said as innocently as she could.

"And you shouldn't encourage them." Niki said.

"Too late now."

"Hey mom." Micah said as he walked up to Jessica's side. He always called Jessica mom in public. "What kind do you want?"

"Um, I'll take a small coffee. OK, sweetheart?" Jessica said. Micah nodded. Jessica gave him some money and he ran off to Claire, leaving Niki and Jessica to argue.

"What does Jessica want?" Claire said.

"A small coffee." Micah said. He handed Claire the money, who handed it to the cashier.

When they turned around, there was "Jessica".

"I didn't order coffee." she said.

"Yeah, you did, _mom_. I remember." Micah said.

"That's not Jessica." Claire said. Niki pulled out her wallet.

"You're right and Jessica shouldn't have taken you out this late. I'll take a small chocolate, please." Niki said. Claire and Micah looked at each other with upset looks. Niki paid and she and the kids left. She took one last look at the mirror wall before walking out.

The three ate there gelato in the car, making small talk every once and awhile. Halfway through eating, Jessica was back.

--------------------------------

"OK, you two be quiet. We don't want to be caught." Jessica said as she, Micah, and Claire walked in the door. When they closed the front door, the den light came on.

"Where have you three been?" Peter asked. He hated to be the rule enforcer of the bunch.

In the den were D.L., Peter, and Isaac.

"Damn." Claire said.

"That's it. We're never doing this again. This is the second time we've been caught." Micah said.

"You've done this once before?" D.L. asked.

"No, mom caught us earlier tonight."

"You know what? We'll discuss this in the morning. Micah, Claire, go to bed." Isaac said.

"Niki, I need to speak with you." D.L. said. Jessica nodded and followed D.L. to their room. Peter and Isaac turned out the light and went to their own rooms. "Niki, what were you thinking? It's past curfew for them and you let them off and go out with them."

"D.L., does this sound like something I'd do?"

"No, it sounds like something Jessica would… do." D.L. sighed. "I'm sorry. It's hard getting used to having Jessica around. I'd like to talk to her."

"Speak." Jessica said.

"Jessica? Why would you do something like this?"

"I know what I did was wrong. I've been a naughty girl. Maybe I need a spanking." Jessica said innocently.

"Uh-uh. You may look like my wife, but I'm not falling for that." D.L. said, taking a step back.

"Fine." Jessica sighed. She looked at the mirror and saw Niki with an angry look on her face. "What? He didn't fall for it. And I was kidding." Niki and Jessica switched.

"Yeah, you're gonna have to stop talking to mirrors like that." D.L. said. He sighed. "Now I'm not gonna be able to sleep."

"Me neither. Jessica put so much caffeine in my system." Niki said.

"So, what are we gonna do?"

"I have an idea." Niki said seductively.

**A/N: I've decided that based on life experiences, I'm going to write this story. This is based on when I went to get gelato the other day and they had a huge mirror wall and I thought "How would Niki/Jessica react to this?" So I decided to write it. The Niki/D.L. part was written as I went.**


	3. Visitor

The eleven heroes walked to their front door, laughing as quietly as they could. It was now one in the morning and everyone on their street was probably asleep. Peter reached into his pocket for his keys.

"Uh, Niki, do you have your keys?" Peter asked.

"No, don't you?" Niki asked. Peter shook his head.

"Does anyone have their keys?" Claire asked. Everyone shook their heads.

"This is where I step in." D.L. said. He walked through the door. He turned to it and heard a noise coming from the kitchen. He looked back at the kitchen. There stood a boy.

D.L. walked back through the door.

"Did you open it?" Nathan asked.

"Someone's inside." D.L. said.

"Who?" Niki asked, grabbing onto Micah.

"I don't know." D.L. said. He went back through the door and quietly unlocked it. He sneaked into the kitchen. The boy he saw was raiding the fridge. This was his chance. He grabbed the boy from behind and pinned him to the ground. The boy let out a low scream. The others walked inside and saw the spectacle. Eden closed and locked the door.

The boy struggled under D.L. He turned the boy over and picked him up. Peter grabbed a chair and shoved the boy into the seat.

The boy had black hair with a blonde strand in front. He had electric blue eyes. He looked as if he'd grown up faster than he should have. His jeans were torn; his shirt and jacket were dirty, as was his face.

"Alright. What are you doing here?" Peter asked. The boy spit at his feet.

"No es ninguno de su negocio, pendejo." the boy retorted.

"OK, he's not gonna cooperate." Isaac said. D.L. slapped the back of the boy's head.

"What are you doing here?" D.L. asked.

"I'm starving, OK?"

"So, you steal from us?" Mohinder said.

"You guys seem to have it all together."

"And you don't?" Peter said.

"Do I look like it? I'm homeless. I almost freeze to death every Christmas."

"What about your family?"

"I have a sister somewhere. I was kidnapped at the age of seven. I was at the mall with her and her fiancé. Next thing I knew, some guy had me in his clutches. I never saw my sister again."

"What's your name?" Isaac asked.

"Cruz."

"Got a last name?" D.L. asked.

"I hate my last name." Cruz said.

"Why?" Nathan asked.

"My father's a bastard."

"Why?" Niki said.

"I don't wanna talk about it. Are you going to call the cops?"

"Yes." Peter said, walking over to the phone.

"Well, I'm sorry. I can't let you do that."

"What are you gonna do about it?" Isaac said. Cruz reached out and a blue lightning bolt surrounded the Heroes. Cruz laughed.

"That was too easy. It's been real." Cruz said. He ran to the backdoor, the bolt of lightning extending as he did. He caught a glimpse of the mirror. Niki had moved. He squinted his eyes. He turned to the others. "You moved." Cruz pointed at Niki.

"What?" Niki said.

"You moved!" He pushed them to the ground forcefully with the lightning. He let them out of their electric surrounding. He walked over to them, Niki in particular. "You moved. I saw it in the mirror."

"I didn't move."

"You lie." A lightning bolt emerged from his palm. She began to convulse. "That's 50 volts going through your body." He stopped the bolt. "I saw you move. Don't lie to me."

"I didn't move." Niki said forcefully.

"Fine." Cruz outstretched his hand again. Right when the bolt was coming out, D.L. moved in front of Niki, allowing the bolt to hit him. Cruz stopped immediately. D.L. stood up. D.L. looked Cruz in the eye. Cruz tried to punch D.L., but his hand went through the older man's body.

Cruz's eyes widened. He pulled back his hand. He turned back to run, but D.L. was faster. D.L. walked right through Cruz, causing Cruz to fall to the ground.

Cruz looked up at him. He attempted to electrocute him.

"You don't wanna do that." said Eden, her voice becoming distorted towards the end in Cruz's ears. Cruz lowered his hand.

"You can answer all our questions truthfully."

"How old are you?" Mohinder asked.

"Eighteen." Cruz answered.

"What's your name?" D.L. asked.

"Alexander Damian Cruz Sanders. Everyone calls me Cruz though." Niki began to feel sick.

"Where's your family?" Niki asked.

"I wasn't lying when I said I was kidnapped. My sister, and I guess her husband by now, are somewhere."

"Where do you live?"

"I'm _homeless_. I ran away from my kidnapper when I was twelve."

"I'm calling the cops." Peter said.

"No! You can't." Niki said. Everyone looked at her with confused faces.

"Why not?" Nathan said. He picked up the boy by his collar. Cruz looked down in shame. Niki was silent. "Well?"

"He's my brother."

**A/N: OK, this has never happened to me. I just thought it was a cool idea.**


	4. Pact

"What?!" the others said.

"You have a brother?" Claire asked. Nathan let go of Cruz's collar. Cruz rubbed his throat.

"Niki?" Cruz asked. Niki nodded.

"I thought you were dead. Like Jessica."

"Almost."

"OK. Can someone clue us in? What's going on?" Peter said.

"Cruz was born fifteen years after me. When he was seven, my dad put him off on me. A week later, he was kidnapped." Niki said.

"I told you." Cruz said. Niki smirked at her younger brother. Then, she slapped him. He grabbed his cheek. "Ow! Jesus Christ!" He took a step away from Niki. "What are you? Dad?"

"You know not to steal."

"Well, it's steal or die. I'd rather steal. Damn. You slap hard."

"Niki, can I talk to you?" Peter said. Niki, Peter, D.L. and the other older Heroes walked to the dining room. "We have to get rid of him."

"No. He's staying here." Niki said.

"Niki, we can't trust him. He's a thief."

"No. He's homeless. I'm not going to lose him again."

"D.L., is she telling the truth? Is Cruz really her brother?" Eden asked.

"Yeah." D.L. said.

"How can we trust that?" Nathan asked.

"He has her eyes." D.L. said. They all looked at him. "Plus. He has gifts and abilities like we do." Peter sighed.

"Fine. He can stay." Peter said.

"Thank you, Peter." Niki said. They all walked back into the kitchen. "Claire, Micah. Go get ready for bed." Claire nodded.

"Come on, Micah." Claire said, leading him upstairs.

"Cruz?" Cruz looked at Niki. "Go take a shower." Cruz gave a little smile.

"Why should I?" Cruz said.

"Because it could be years since you've taken a shower."

"Not years. Only 6 months, five days, 2 hours, 54 minutes, and 24 seconds to be exact."

"Yeah, go take a shower."

--------------------

Niki looked into the visor mirror. She fixed her hair as Jessica looked at Cruz.

Cruz. The kid who was supposed to replace her. The boy her father never had. But he still beat him. Just as he did her. He threw him away. The sparkle in his eyes had left him at a young age. When it left him, she didn't know, but it left at a very young age. Some of the sparkle came back when he was allowed to stay with the rest of the Heroes the night before. And when he had found Niki. But it would never be as bright as it should.

Niki, Claire, D.L., Micah, Cruz, and Peter walked through the mall. Cruz needed new clothes.

They were walking past Hot Topic when two security guards ran by. They were following two kids, around Claire and Cruz's age.

"I'll be right back." Cruz said.

"Cruz, I'd rather you stick nearby." Peter said.

"I'll be right back."

"Cruz-" Before Peter could finish, Cruz was off. At a minimum of 200 miles per hour. They couldn't even see him.

"Whoa. Did you see that?" Micah asked.

"His ability must affect his reflexes." Claire said. D.L. began to walk in the same direction as Cruz ran.

"Where are you going?" Niki asked.

"See if I can find him." D.L. said.

Cruz was now in an alley. The two kids he saw ran into it.

One was a boy and one was a girl. The girl had dark brown hair and blue eyes. The boy was African-American and had light brown curly hair and dark brown eyes.

"Ah, you finally made it. I've been here for nearly two minutes." Cruz said. The boy looked at him.

"Well, we would've been here faster if you'd been with us."

"Are you blaming this on me?"

"Yes. Where the hell have you been?" the boy asked.

"Calm down, Blaise. The people that lived at that house I was in last night took me in." There was silence. Then, Blaise and the girl bursted into laughter. Cruz frowned.

"You're not serious, are you?" the girl asked.

"Yes, Sirena, I'm serious." Cruz said.

"Why? I thought they'd call the cops." Blaise said. He and Sirena had stopped laughing.

"They were going to. One of them is my sister, Niki."

"Oh, so you've gone clean." Blaise said in a sad voice.

"Yeah." Cruz said happily. He then looked at Blaise's face and his smile disappeared. Blaise was upset. "I'm sure they'd take you in."

"I doubt it." Blaise was homeless and an orphan just as Cruz was.

"I'm sure they would. I mean, Peter, he's basically the leader and he only let me stay because of my special ability. When he finds out you have one, I'm sure he'll let you stay."

"Yeah, right."

"Yeah. My nephew he's a technopath. He can fix technology with his mind. The teenage girl, she has rapid tissue regeneration. My brother-in-law can walk through things and I'm sure all the others have special abilities, too."

"So, you really think they'd take me in?"

"Bet." Cruz held out his hand. Blaise shook it, ending in shooting a burst of flames at a dumpster at the end of the alley. Cruz sent a bolt of lightning surrounding the dumpster. The flame bounced off and was absorbed back into Blaise's hand.

"Cruz." said a voice. The three teens turned to see D.L. "You know how hard it is to have people not notice you're walking through walls? Very."

"Sorry, D.L." Cruz said.

"You know these kids?"

"Yeah, this is Blaise and Sirena. Guys, this is my brother-in-law, D.L."

"Cruz, we better get back."

"Can Blaise come with us?"

"I'm not sure."

"Please. He needs to meet Peter and Mohinder."

"It's not that. He does need to meet Peter and Mohinder, but security's looking for him." Cruz turned to Blaise.

"Here." Cruz gave Blaise the bag of clothes he'd been carrying. "Put these on."

"Hey, where've you been?" Niki asked. Blaise, D.L., and Cruz had spent a half an hour looking for the others, only to find them in the food court.

"Oh, in the alleys of LA." Cruz said. "Peter, Mohinder, this is my friend, Blaise. Blaise, that's Peter and that's Mohinder."

"Nice to meet you." Peter said. He held out his hand.

"Uh, Peter-" D.L. said.

"No, no. Let them shake hands." Cruz whispered. Blaise took Peter's hand. They shook hands for a moment.

"Ow." Peter said. He looked at his hand. It was red.

"I suggest you put water on that." Blaise said with a smirk.

"You're special, too?" Mohinder asked.

"Pyrokinetic." Blaise said. He snapped his finger and a flame appeared as if his thumb was a lighter **(think Human Torch in Fantastic Four)**.

--------------------

Peter and the other Heroes had had a long discussion about letting Blaise stay. Mohinder believed he had to stay. Not only did he have a special ability, but he was homeless and was Cruz's best friend.

"This'll be great." Cruz said, throwing a baseball into the air.

"Yeah. Sure." Blaise said. Cruz sat up.

"Now what's wrong?"

"I haven't had a real home since-" Blaise trailed off.

"Oh. Well, if it makes you feel better, I've never had a home. Except the streets."

"What about when you lived with your dad?"

"Blaise, he beat me and then turned me over to my sister. Then, I was kidnapped. I've never even had a real family. I hadn't seen my sister in eleven years until yesterday. My other sister, Jessica, died before I was born. I don't remember my mom and my dad beat me. I have no one. No one but you. Which is why we're gonna make a pact."

"A pact?"

"Yeah. No matter what, we stick together. Even if we get kicked out of here or one of us is at gunpoint, we'll still be there. We're brothers." Cruz said.

"Brothers?" Cruz nodded. Blaise sighed. "You know? This will be hard to explain."

"Why?"

"One brother's black and the other's white."

"Do we have a deal?" Cruz created a yin sign with his electrokinesis. Blaise made the yang sign with his pyrokinesis.

"Deal."

**A/N: I know Eden blew her brains out, but I needed her and didn't have the heart to cut her out.**


	5. Beatings

"Hey, Cruz. Can I talk to you for a minute?" Cruz looked up. There stood Niki. He smiled.

"Yeah. Sure." Niki sat by him.

"Well, I know you know everyone else's gifts."

"Yeah."

"There's something about Niki I should tell you."

"That you consider yourself in the third-person." Jessica gave him a strange look.

"No. She doesn't."  
"Really? 'Cause your doing it now."

"I'm not Niki. I'm Jessica."

"Ha. That's hilarious. Pretending that you're our dead sister. That's- that's funny. Good one."

"I'm serious."

"Yeah, sure you are, Niki."

"Cruz, I'm telling you the truth. I am Jessica."

"Wow, you really believe this."

"Cruz, Jessica's telling the truth." Niki said.

"Whoa. OK, schizoid."

"You can ask anyone else in this house. Jessica is real." Cruz thought about this.

"OK. So, what? Your gift is duality."

"And Jessica's is super human strength." Niki said. Cruz sighed.

"Does Jessica like me?" Cruz said after a few minutes.

"What?"

"Does she like me? I mean, I was born to replace her and I electrocuted you. So does she dislike me?" Niki looked in the mirror. Jessica shook her head.

"No, she doesn't hate you." Niki said, her eyes still on the mirror. Cruz looked at the mirror.

"What are you looking at?"

"Jessica. I see her in my reflection. She's sitting right next to you." Cruz looked to his other side. There was nothing there.

"You can't see me. Not unless I've taken over Niki's body." Jessica said.

"Jessica?" Jessica nodded. "Where's Niki?" Cruz asked.

"Right now? In the mirror."

"So, I have both of my sisters right here?"

"Yeah, basically." Cruz hugged Jessica.

--------------------

Peter sat in the living room, watching TV. Cruz was in the dining room, playing guitar with lightning, strumming each bolt. The two still didn't like each other and the others were out.

Cruz smirked at a sudden idea he'd just gotten. He pointed his index finger at Peter's head and shot off a lightning bolt. Peter jumped at the shock.

"Ow." Peter turned to Cruz. "What'd you do that for?"

"Do what?"

"You shocked me. I know you did."

"How do you know I did?"

"There's nothing electrical by my head. You shocked me."

"Did not."

"Alright, you wanna take this outside?" Peter asked. Cruz smiled.

"Alright let's go, nurse." Cruz stood up and walked into the backyard. Peter followed.

"Bring it on." Peter said. Peter takes a bolt to the arm which burns him. He shot one at Cruz's foot, setting it on fire. "You need to get nonflammable shoes, man." He laughed.

"I would if I had the money!" Cruz took off his shoes. He grabbed Peter in a lightning surrounding and threw him against the house. "If this was Star Wars, I'd be a Sith Lord."

Peter shoved off the wall, "Yeah, I know what you mean. Check this out." Peter threw his hands at Cruz, sending waves of electricity at him, "Taste the awesome power of Raiden!"

Cruz began to convulse. He managed to lift his hand and absorb the lightning.  
"Top that." Cruz pushed the lightning back. Peter took the lightning and absorbed it into his hand and let it run in his fingers.

"This is cool."

"Alright, Count Dooku."  
Cruz threw off lightning bolts at a fast rate.

Peter used Cruz's super fast reflexes to run behind Cruz and dodged the electricity then charged his hands and palms into Cruz's back, shocking him. Cruz fell to the ground and rolled over. He jumped up. His hands began to warm up, lightning surrounding them. He put them together and made an orb of electricity. He threw it at Peter. Peter spun, trying to dodge the ball and took it in the shoulder, knocking him down. He stood up; grabbing his shoulder as he gradually healed and ran at Cruz. He jumped up and charged his shoes and slammed Cruz in the chest with his feet. The breath was knocked out of Cruz. He gasped for breath. He stood up and ran around Peter in circles, hitting him with bolts of lightning as he did so. Peter took about four bolts to his body and collapsed as he healed. He slammed the ground, electrocuting Cruz. Peter ran at Cruz and grabbed him, holding him tightly as he electrocuted him. Cruz charged two bolts into him. Peter took both blows, which burned his shirt, "Damn man. Tell me when you're done." Peter stuck his hand into Cruz's arm and electrocuted him.

"FUCK!" Cruz shouted. He removed Peter's arm. He punched Peter and grabbed Peter by the neck, electricity surging through his arm. That's when the others came home.

"What are you two doing?" Isaac asked. Cruz put his other hand on Peter's neck, doubling the power. He ignored the others. Peter screamed.

"You guys, stop it!" Claire shouted. Cruz began to become exhausted, but wouldn't let go.

"Now, who's the best, Peter?" Cruz asked. D.L. and Isaac managed to get Cruz to let go. Peter and Cruz both fell to their knees. "I win."

"Is this some type of game to you? You could have killed him." Claire said, trying to help Peter up.

"It was my idea. Good match, Cruz." Peter said. Niki and Blaise tried to help Cruz up.

"You did well. For the first time using my powers." Cruz shook Peter's hand. Both of their breathing was labored. Peter was now healing, thanks to Claire.

"This doesn't change anything." Peter said.

"Damn straight."

--------------------

"You like him, don't you?" Cruz asked. He was standing in Claire's doorway. Niki had bandaged him up.

"Who?" Claire asked.

"Peter."

"Of course. He saved my life."

"That's not what I mean. I mean do you like him as more than a friend?"

"What's it to you?"

"I just want to know. You were very protective of him."

"I told you. He saved my life."

"Just answer me correctly."

"Alright. Fine. Yes."

"Eww. He's like thirteen years older than you."

"What's your point?"

"My point is if you went out with him, he'd be like a pedophile."

"It doesn't matter. He has a girlfriend. Simone." Claire said.

"Well, maybe you should look for guys your own age." Cruz said.

"Eww, I'm not going to go out with you."

"Like I'd ask you out."

"Please, if the chance came, you wouldn't be able to resist."

"Cocky, are we?"

"Not as cocky as you." Claire and Cruz were now face-face. Cruz opened his mouth to say something else.

"Claire! Cruz! Dinner is ready!" Eden called up.

"We're not finished here." Cruz said.

"We most certainly are." Claire said, walking past him.

**A/N: This is a love/hate chapter for me, because I wrote this before we found out Peter was Claire's uncle. I also absolutely hate the idea of Claire/Peter. I love this chapter, because it shows a relationship between Niki and Cruz and Claire and Cruz.**


	6. Christmas

Christmas was now right around the corner. Cruz and Blaise had been there for two months. Cruz and Peter had warmed up to each other, but still disliked each other. Claire and Cruz also didn't get along very well. Blaise on the other hand was getting along great with everyone. Claire and Cruz usually went to him to vent… about each other. Now, the kids were trying to come up with something special for the adults. None of them had a clue on what to do.

Cruz lay on his bed. Claire passed by his room and heard him singing.

Claire recognized this as I'll Cover You from Rent.

"I think I just figured out what we're going to do for the adults." Claire said. Cruz turned.

"What?" he asked.

"You're going to perform on Christmas Eve."

"Perform what?" Cruz asked.

"A few Christmas songs."

"I can't sing."

"Oh, please. I just heard you."

"Uh, no, you didn't. Now get out."

"Come on, Cruz."

"No. I told you get out."

"Fine." she said. She walked downstairs and into Micah's room. Blaise and Micah looked at her. "I have a brilliant idea."

"Really? What?" Micah said.

"We're gonna get Cruz to sing."

"Good luck with that. How do you know he can sing?" Blaise said.

"I heard him."

"He's never gonna sing in front of you again."

"Oh, I'll get him to sing."

--------------------

The door bell rang. Peter immediately stood up and ran to the door. He opened it.

"Nathan! Simone! It's good to see you." Peter said. He hugged his brother and kissed his girlfriend. "Hello, Heidi. How are you?"

"I'm good, Peter. How are you?"

"I'm great." Peter said as he hugged his sister-in-law. "Come in." Peter grabbed their bags and Nathan pushed Heidi into the house. They went into the living room.

"Hi Simone. Hey Nathan. Hi Heidi." Claire said as she stood up.

"Hello Claire. How are you?" Heidi said.

"I'm good. It's great to see you."

"I thought you were going to Texas for Christmas." Nathan said. "Spend Christmas with your family."

"This is my family." Claire said, hugging Nathan.

"Hey, what's going on?" Blaise asked. Cruz, Micah, and he poked their heads into the room. Micah had on a pair of goggles.

"Nathan's here." Claire said.

"Cool. Hey Nathan." Cruz said as the boys walked in. Peter walked in after them. He stood next to them. Micah went and hugged Heidi.

"Micah, you've gotten so big." Heidi said. Micah chuckled.

"It's nice to see you again, Mrs. Petrelli." Micah said.

"Who is she?" Cruz whispered to Peter.

"Nathan's wife." Peter whispered back.

"Oh, why's she in the wheelchair?" Blaise asked.

"She was paralyzed in a car crash."

"That's horrible." Peter nodded.

"And who are these young men?" Heidi asked.

"That's my uncle, Cruz. And that's Blaise." Micah said.

"I'm Heidi. It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you, too." Cruz said.

"Micah and Cruz, we should finish that experiment. We've left it alone for quite some time. If we do what happened last time, Niki will kill us." Blaise said.

"Ooh, you're right. Come on, guys." Micah said.

"Why are we taking orders from a 10 year-old?" Cruz joked.

"Shut up." Micah said.

--------------------

"What will it take for you to go away?" Cruz asked.

"Just sing. I'll be happy and leave you alone." Claire said.

"You swear."

"Yes. All you have to do is sing a few Christmas songs. That's it."

"Alright. Cool. I'll do it."

"Thank you." Claire said as she hugged Cruz.

"OK. Get off me." Cruz said.

"Oh, right, sorry."

--------------------

Christmas Eve had come quickly. The plan the kids had come up was still in affect. Now they were all at dinner, laughing and chatting. Claire and Cruz were actually acting civilized to each other.

"I'd like to make a toast," Heidi said, as she… stood? Everyone looked at her. They all had a shocked look except Cruz and Blaise who had confused looks.

Cruz leaned over to Peter.

"I thought you said she was paralyzed." Cruz whispered.

"She is- I mean was. I mean, I don't know." Peter whispered.

"Well, that's the last time I ask you for info."

"Heidi, you can walk?" Niki asked.

"Yes. For a few days now."

"So, you've been able to walk this whole time?" Mohinder said.

"Yes."

"Nathan, why didn't you tell us?" Peter said.

"I didn't know." Nathan said.

"Well, it's a Christmas miracle." Cruz said. Claire cleared her throat. Cruz looked at her. "Oh, right. Blaise and Micah, out. Claire, come with." The younger heroes walked out of the room. Cruz came back, struggling to take off his jacket. "Oh, yeah. You guys, uh, can entertain yourselves, uh, without us for like five minutes- maybe less, right? OK. Good." Cruz walked out the room before the adults could answer.

"I hate to be blunt, but what the hell is wrong with your brother, Niki." Peter said. Hiro hit him.

"I have no idea." Niki said. Five minutes later, Claire came back.

"You may now enter the living room." Claire said. The adults stood up and went in. The furniture was rearranged and the TV was not in its rightful place. Instead, there was Cruz sitting on a stool with a microphone. Behind him were Blaise and Micah at a DJing booth.

"Sit down. You might want to." Cruz said.

"What's going on?" Simone asked.

"For weeks, us younger Heroes have been trying to figure out what to do for you guys. So, we decided I'm gonna sing for you guys. Crazy, right?" Cruz said. Nathan, Heidi, Matt, Janice, Peter, and Simone sat on the couch. Hiro and Ando sat in a chair. Isaac sat in an armchair, while Niki sat on D.L.'s lap under the tree by Eden and Mohinder. "Blaise, Micah."

"You know that's broken, ri- Never mind," Peter said. Blaise and Micah started the music.

Cruz sang:

_Let It Snow by Boys II Men_

_Under My Tree by NSYNC_

_I Never Knew The Meaning Of Christmas by NSYNC_

_All I Want Is You This Christmas by NSYNC_

_Don't Let Me Go by Brian McKnight_

During "I Never Knew The Meaning Of Christmas", the couples began to dance. Cruz looked back at Blaise and Micah. Both had smiles on their faces. Cruz had looked over to Claire who was dancing with Isaac. Hiro and Ando were relaxing, listening to Cruz sing. Cruz realized that Claire was actually pretty cute. He scolded himself for thinking such a thing. It was blasphemy. Against himself.

--------------------

Micah shook Cruz awake.

"Cruz, get up. Come on, it's Christmas," Micah said. Cruz groaned.

"I'm up. I'm up," Cruz said. He sat up and put on a tank top. He grabbed his blanket and wrapped it around himself. He walked downstairs with Micah.

"Hey, you're awake," Blaise said.

"Barely," Cruz mumbled.

"You know, I was having a good Christmas until you woke up," Claire said.

"Ha! Shove it, Claire. I'm not in the mood."

"Ahh, why not?"

"It's too early, Claire. Don't push your luck."

"Alright. I'll let it go, because it's Christmas."

"I usually wouldn't say this, especially to you, but thanks." Claire sat next to Micah near the tree.

"Morning guys," Eden said, a huge smile on her face. Cruz gave her a questioning look. She was a little too cheery this morning.

"Morning," all the kids said.

"Isn't it a beautiful day?" Mohinder asked as he walked in. He was just as jovial. Cruz and Blaise looked at each other and silently laughed. Micah and Claire did the same.

"Wonderful," Claire answered. Mohinder and Eden sat on the couch. Cruz and Blaise walked over to Claire and Micah.

"I knew I heard something last night," Cruz said.

"I thought you were just delusional," Blaise said. All of them still had their eyes on Mohinder and Eden who were talking quietly.

"What are you four talking about?" D.L. asked as he and Matt came up behind them.

"Look at those two," Micah said. D.L. and Matt looked over to the couple. D.L. began to laugh. Matt's eyes widened.

"You don't think they-" D.L. began.

"Oh, they did. I can read it," Matt said.

"They did what?" Niki whispered.

"It," Matt, D.L., and the kids said. Niki chuckled.

"Finally," Niki said.

"I can't believe they did it," Peter said to Nathan, Heidi, Isaac, and Simone in the dining room.

"How do you know they did?" Nathan asked.

"Look at their smiles. They're glowing. Plus, I just absorbed Matt's ability and their thoughts aren't necessarily pretty." The five walked into the living room.

"Finally. Let's open gifts!" Micah shouted. Cruz and Blaise walked over to where they were.

"What are you guys doing over there?" Claire asked.

"We don't have any gifts for you guys. We're broke, as usual. Consider last night's performance a gift," Cruz said.

"You didn't sing for me."

"Ah, yes. But you got me to sing. That's your gift."

"Well, we have gifts for the two of you so get down here," Niki said.

--------------------

Cruz opened a box from Peter. It was a pair of nonflammable shoes. Cruz laughed.

"Thank you, Peter," Cruz said. Peter laughed a little. Everyone gave them questioning looks.

"What's so funny?" Simone asked.

"You wouldn't understand," Peter said.

"Well, I guess that's it," Nathan said.

"No. There's one more. It's for Cruz," Claire said.

"Pass it over," Cruz said.

"It's not something I can pass." Cruz gave her a questioning look and stood up. He walked over to her and next to her sat an electric guitar and amp. His jaw hung slackly. He picked up the guitar.

"You guys got me a guitar?" he said completely awestruck.

"Yeah. Now come on. Play something," Peter said. Cruz plugged in the amp and guitar. He played a little and realized it was out of tune.

"Hold on. I need to tune it."

"Good, 'cause that sucked." Cruz scoffed and tuned the guitar. He played Musetta's Waltz to test it out.

"See, I can play," Cruz said.

"Good to know we didn't waste our money," Matt said.


End file.
